The Bankers
Association of Namibia (BAN) wishes to inform the Namibian public about scams
currently doing the rounds in Namibia.
Ian Leyenaar, chairman
of BAN and CEO of First National Bank of Namibia said: “We know that many of these scams are not
new, yet people still seem to fall prey to them and we, therefore, wish to
again highlight a number of the more common scams with the help of the media. BAN
will issue media statements over the next few weeks explaining different types
of scams which are in circulation in the country and again request the public
to be vigilant, not get caught out and
to warn as many people as they can about these scams so that they do not fall
prey to them”.
The first scam Leyenaar referred to is the prize and lottery scam. “These are notifications,
which arrive through the mail, by e-mail, or by an unsolicited telephone call
and inform the targeted people that they have won a substantial prize (often
for a competition they didn't enter). Various
certificates supposedly confirming the winnings are mailed under the pretext
that the originals were sent to the paying bank. The victims are required to
communicate with a contact person at the bank by mail, or telephonically, for
the “winnings” to be processed. The details, offered by the fraudsters, of the
contact person at the bank, are fake and that of colluding fraudsters. The
contents of these certificates are clearly fraudulent.”
Leyenaar went on to say that this scam was typical “advance fee fraud”. “The crux
of the matter, unfortunately, is that the so-called winner is told to first remit
a certain sum of money as a “consultation or administration fee”, or some extra
fees, in advance, before they will receive their alleged winnings. The fraudsters offer the targeted victims a
chance to make a substantial fortune through a so-called winning, however at
the same time require a fee payable by the targeted victim to perform minor
administrative and legal duties. Once the so-called fee is paid you will never
hear from anyone again.”
Tips to avoid 'prize & lottery' scam – be aware:
* If the
offer of such an "opportunity" appears too good to be true, it
probably is.
* The
information advises that you have won a prize, but you did not enter any
competition run by the contest promoters.
* Be wary of
dealing with persons who do not have a direct telephone line, who are never
"in" or “available” when you call, but always return your call later.
* The
telephone contact details provided are in most cases mobile numbers and not
fixed land lines. Make sure it is indeed
a bank you are calling.
* Customers should
never interact with the sender or respond to the email if they have never
played in a lottery or entered a competition.
* Customers
should never respond or reply to sms/emails that request their personal information
and /or banking details. No bank will request such information via email.
* The prize
promoters ask you to pay (for administration or "processing") in
advance. Bear in mind that if the
winnings are legitimate, there will be no need for an advance payment and
customers should never become involved in such scams.
“If it sounds too
good to be true” Leyenaar warned, “then it probably is."
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